The Case Diary includes the latest information on our activites. The Diary archive, available via the links on the left, includes diary entries as well as all the information from our What's New section.

27/07/04 Private investment in R&D
SBS today called on the Government to have a clearer strategy
for getting private industry to invest in R&D in the UK. In an
article in Innovation Policy Review, SBS points out that
while the recent spending review and ten-year framework for science
said a lot about public investment, there were no new carrots or sticks
to encourage industry to invest in the private research that is needed
if the country's economy is to thrive in the coming decades. "Just
about the only industries to invest at international levels are the
pharmaceuticals and aerospace sectors," said Peter Cotgreave,
Director of SBS, "partly because the NHS and the Ministry of
Defence provide state monopoly customers. We need to work out what
else we can do to encourage other sectors to invest in R&D in
the UK economy."

26/07/04 Science in Europe
SBS today called on the Government to fight for a clearer
definition in Europe of what research money is supposed to be used
for. "At the moment, the Framework Programme is supposed to support
the best science, but it is also used as an instrument of social policy,
to move money and skills from richer countries to poorer ones,"
said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of SBS. "Because it is trying
to do two completely different things with one set of rules, it doesn't
do either of them properly. Unless the Eurocrats sort out two different
funding mechanisms, they're never going to be able to achieve both
aims.

20/07/04 Scientific publishing
SBS today warmly welcomed the House of Commons Science &
Technology Committee's report on the market in scientific publishing.
"What really matters is the competitive market in ideas,"
said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of SBS, "That's how science
works - by different ideas competing in a marketplace, until some
prove stronger than others. The Committee has correctly identified
that current publishing practices have some serious defects, and have
set out some options for discussion. Not only the publishers, but
the academic community and the Government funding agencies are going
to have to get involved in a major debate about the best way to ensure
the future market in scientific ideas".

16/07/04 Ten-year plan for science
SBS today highlighted some of the problems and some of the
advantages of the Government's ten year plan for science. In an article
in the Times Higher Education Supplement, SBS points out
that although there are many positive points in the ten-year framework,
there are also some worrying aspects. For example, the section on
managing the research base calls for an "integrated and efficient
performance management system. SBS argues that "that may sound
rather exciting to whoever wrote it, but it will make the room suddenly
feel very cold to those creative researchers who thought the research
councils were supposed to be dedicated to funding exciting scientific
proposals".

12/07/04 Spending Review
SBS today welcomed the Chancellor's Spending Review and Framework
for science, but warned that the detailed plans will still mean there
is a long way to go before British science is saved.

12/07/04 Science in schools
Ahead of today's public spending review, SBS highlighted
the problems of science in schools. In interviews with The Times
and BBC Radio 5 Live, focusing on SBS's survey
of science teachers, SBS points out that practical classes - a
crucial part of any science education - are being cancelled in three
quarters of schools. In more than half the schools, one of the reasons
given for abandoning practicals was pupils' behaviour. "We were
astonished that the main reason for cancelling practical classes was
behavioural problems. To be honest, we expected complaints about equipment
and lack of staff, but the single biggest thing we encountered was
that naughty children are not trusted with laboratory equipment,"
said Rosemary Davies of SBS, who conducted the survey.

10/07/04 Spending Review
SBS today outlined some of the important areas that must
receive funding in the Chancellor's spending review if British science
is to thrive. In an interview on the Today programme on BBC
Radio 4, SBS pointed out that the state of science in schools is in
a parlous state, with poor laboratories and a lack of well-qualified
teachers. In addition, drawing on a report
published last week SBS highlighted that some research positions
in the public sector need substantial pay rises if research is to
be seen as a competitive career for bright youngsters.
"The UK has already
signed up to a target of investing 3% of the nation's wealth in research
and development," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of SBS, "so
the news that the Treasury is talking about a long-term aim of investing
2.5% does not sound nearly ambitious enough".

09/07/04 Spending Review
SBS today warned that when the Chancellor of the Exchequer
announces his spending review on Monday, the figures will need to
be examined carefully rather than taken at face value. In an interview
in the Financial Times, SBS Director Peter Cotgreave says:
"If they talk about doubling the science budget, people will
assume that means doubling government spending on science. But it
may not be so generous in reality. Other departments science spending
- particularly what the Department for Education & Skills spends
through the higher education funding council on universities' research
infrastructure - must keep pace."

05/07/04 Recruitment and retention
SBS today published a report showing that £250 million
per year is needed to tackle the market failure in university science
researchers. Based on a discussions held at a symposium last month,
the report presents a well-argued case for the new money, and gives
detailed proposals about how it should be used.
“With all the new
infrastructure we are getting, British science has the potential to
deliver substantial benefits for the British taxpayer,” said
Richard Joyner, Chairman of SBS, “but unless we tackle the problems
of recruiting and retaining the best researchers, we are in danger
of not getting the maximum value out of the investment we have already
made.”